On a crisp, gray morning, Chris French maneuvered a bicycle through Vienna's neighborhood streets on his way to work in Tysons Corner. A narrow curve on Old Courthouse Road was the toughest spot, and some frustrated motorists squeezed past him. But a school bus driver drove patiently behind French, who was cycling about 14 miles per hour from his home in Oakton.

The Tysons portion is the first phase in an effort to create a biking infrastructure across the county. The plan is scheduled to be released in February and will require approval from the Board of Supervisors.

Those who bike to work in Tysons say the plan is a welcome relief.

Right now, "it's a challenge, and a lot of them have to be pretty confident road cyclists to get to work," said Jeffrey Hermann, project manager for the county's bicycle master plan.

"We want to expand beyond those people and make it sort of an everyday, every person" thing, he said.

Also featured in the article is Michele Schachter who

bikes 14.7 miles each way from her Dupont Circle home to work at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It's a mostly smooth commute that takes her through Rock Creek Park, the Custis Trail, the Washington and Old Dominion Trail and to a wide sidewalk on Gallows Road. But the last stretch gets tricky.

Schachter loops around Tysons Corner Center and then gets on the Westpark Bridge, which is being widened as part of the HOT lanes project. There she must avoid dips in the pavement.

A vehicle's tire "probably wouldn't even feel it," she said, "but if I hit that thing I would be dead!"

Despite the challenges, several Tysons employers encourage biking to work, sowing the seeds for a future where cyclists will be more common. Booze Allen Hamilton, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Freddie Mac and Science Applications International Corp., where French works, all have bike clubs. Booze Allen recently installed lockers next to its bike racks so cyclists can store their gear.

Schachter said her office has showers and lockers, as well as pumps, tire-repair kits and bike racks. She works earlier hours to avoid riding in the dark. It takes Schachter about 70 minutes to get to work, less time than using Metro, which would take two trains and a bus.

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